Concall (earnings call)

A live phone/webcast conversation between the company's senior management and analysts/investors. Held within 1-2 days of every quarterly result. The single most valuable hour of forward-looking information a listed company offers - and it's free.

What happens on a concall

Two parts, roughly 30 minutes each:

1. Management presentation - CFO walks through numbers, CEO talks about strategy and outlook. Usually scripted; covers what's already in the investor presentation. Skip if you've read the PPT.

2. Q&A - analysts and large investors ask questions. This is where the real value sits. Pointed questions on:

• Volume vs price growth split
• Capacity utilisation
• Margin pressure (where, when reversing?)
• Capex plans + funding
• Customer concentration
• Specific weak segments

Management answers can range from "perfectly transparent" to "carefully evasive." Reading the quality of the answer is as important as the answer itself.